Jeff Kukucka

Jeff Kukucka is a legal psychologist specializing in wrongful convictions. As of October 2024, he is an associate professor at Towson University. While at Loyola College, Kukucka began engaging in research with Kerri Goodwin in conformity in relation to eyewitness memory. Following this, he received his M.A. in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice Finally, while pursuing his Ph.D, Kukucka worked primarily under Saul Kassin in Psychology and Law.

Research Kukucka's research primarily revolves around wrongful convictions with a focus on both the causes and the resulting impact. During his time at Towson University, Kukucka leads the Psychology and Law at Towson (PLaTo) Lab where members of the lab seek to bridge the gap between psychology and how improvements can be made to the criminal justice system. Through this lab, both undergraduate and master's students are brought together to make up this research team. This was done by recruiting hiring managers and assigning them to separate conditions; one condition reviewed the application of an exonerated individual, one condition reviewed the application of an individual correctly convicted of a felony, and one condition that reviewed the application of an individual with no connection to the justice system. Researchers found that those applicants who were exonerated of a crime were viewed similarly to the applicants who were convicted of felonies.

Awards and honors

2024 Early Career Teaching and Mentoring Award, American Psychology-Law Society 2021 Rising Star, Association for Psychological Science 2020 Saleem Shah Award for Early Career Excellence, American Psychology-Law Society 2020 Distinguished Young Alumnus Award, St. Paul's School for Boys 2018 Honors College Professor of the Year, Towson University 2017 Psi Chi Eastern Regional Faculty Advisor Award 2014 Dissertation Award (Third Place), American Psychology-Law Society 2009 Grindall Psychology Medal, Loyola College in Maryland Member of Phi Beta Kappa, Psi Chi, and Phi Sigma Tau Honors societies